Graphical processing unit (GPU) acceleration for numerical solution of population balance models using high resolution finite volume algorithm

Population balance modeling is a widely used approach to describe crystallization processes. It can be extended to multivariate cases where more internal coordinates i.e., particle properties such as multiple characteristic sizes, composition, purity, etc. can be used. The current study presents highly efficient fully discretized parallel implementation of the high resolution finite volume technique implemented on graphical processing units (GPUs) for the solution of single- and multi-dimensional population balance models (PBMs). The proposed GPU-PBM is implemented using CUDA C++ code for GPU calculations and provides a generic Matlab interface for easy application for scientific computing. The case studies demonstrate that the code running on the GPU is between 2-40 times faster than the compiled C++ code and 50-250 times faster than the standard MatLab implementation. This significant improvement in computational time enables the application of model-based control approaches in real time even in case of multidimensional population balance models. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.